The Director of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Dona Paula along with his staff welcomed the newly acquired Research Vessel Sindhu Sankalp, which arrived today at the Captain of Ports Jetty, Panaji. She sailed on 14 November 2008 from the port of Dunedin, New Zealand. Besides the regular officers and crew three members of NIO and Mr. Malcolm A Macleod, previous owner, accompanied the vessel. The 56 m long and 9 m wide vessel with a gross tonnage of 709 tonnes, would be used to study the seas around India. On this occasion Director NIO, Dr. Satish Shetye, observed that the seas around India (the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the equatorial North Indian Ocean) are unique in several aspects. This uniqueness arises from two factors. First, the water of the Indian Ocean is blocked in the north by landmass (Asia) from having access to polar region. Second, because of the monsoon, these waters experience one of the strongest seasonal variability of atmospheric conditions anywhere in the world oceans. This gives rise to large variations of wind stress, evaporation, precipitation and coastal run-off that not only make the dynamics of this water unique, but also have a profound influence on biogeochemical cycles. The NIO has made an impact on the global oceanographic research arena by sustained observations of these waters. Dr. Shetye further added that the acquisition of RV Sindhu Sankalp is an important milestone in the history of NIO. This vessel will help our scientists to advance into the seas in and around Indian waters for research purposes. Earlier Dr. PS Rao, Senior Scientist and Project Leader briefed the gathering on the vessel acquisition process. Dr. Rao said that the vessel would be modified to suit the requirements of NIO and fitted with necessary scientific equipments. As the vessel is proven to be stable platform, the scientists can plan experiments round the year. Mr. Sanjeev Afzalpurkar proposed the vote of thanks.